A few weeks before we left on this cruise we installed a new refrigerator/freezer. It is a Vitrifrigo 8.1 cu. ft. 12V high efficiency unit. It replaced an aging Summit 10 cu. ft. refrigerator, and GE 5 cu. ft. chest freezer. These dinosaurs were real power hogs. They used about 25-30 amps between them, when running. And they ran a lot. The new unit draws only 5 amps, and runs far less often.
One of the first things I do each morning is to check the Link 1000 battery monitor to see how many amps we have pulled out of the batteries overnight. This morning we are down 140 amps since around 1600 yesterday. This is less than half of what it used to be. Before we would typically be down around 300-325 amps, which is about 25% of our battery capacity. I don't like to let them get any lower than that.
We lost about half our storage capacity. But it has been worth it. Our energy consumption is way down. We used to have to run the generator 2-3 hours each morning, and evening. Since installing the new Vitrifrigo, as well as 716 watts of solar panels, we now run the generator for 1-2 hours every 4-5 days. Usually just to get the hot water tank up to temp. It will stay hot for 3-4 days.
The solar panels are one of the best investments I have made on the boat. On a good sunny day they will put out as much as 40 amps. Even on overcast days we get as much as 12-15 amps. Since our total electrical load is only around 10 amps, with fridge running, the panels can keep up with that and have enough left over to charge the batteries. Free electricity, what could be better!
Now, if I could just install a water maker, we would only need to go ashore for groceries!
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